Understanding pharmacy staff attitudes and experience relating to suicide

Every year more than 800,000 people die due to suicide, worldwide. Countries with more established suicide prevention plans often advocate for multisector, multidisciplinary, and whole community approaches to suicide prevention. The role of pharmacy teams, particularly community pharmacy teams, within this had rarely been considered but evidence is emerging. This chapter explores what is known about the role of community pharmacy teams in suicide prevention. It presents a narrative review of studies predominately from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with a focus on pharmacists’ experiences and attitudes toward suicide prevention. The chapter presents a case study which contains, for the first time, results from a survey of pharmacy staff in England and explores their experiences and perceptions of suicide awareness and prevention.